Counseling Department
Teachers
- Michele Chin (mchin@pausd.org)
- Jovi Johnston (jojohnson@pausd.org)
Welcome to Fletcher Counseling! At Fletcher, we are fortunate to have two counselors. Each counselor remains with her class until those students graduate from 8th grade.
The goal of the counseling program is to partner with parents, staff, and students to support the development of the whole child. We do this by offering academic and social/emotional support. Additionally, counselors collaborate with staff on our Social Kindness program to promote respect, inclusion, and a positive school community.
Health & Wellness
The Palo Alto Unified School District Health and Wellness Information for Parents and Staff contains information regarding:
- Health Requirements for Entering Students
- Forms and Protocols for Health Conditions
- Medications
- Medication Administration - At School and On Field Trips
- Health Information and Resources
- Mental Health Resources
- Healthy Lifestyle
- Palo Alto Unified School District Resources
- Professional Websites/Resources
Our team of professionals collaborate with schools, families, and the community to deliver quality health, mental health, and human services. Through the promotion of physical, mental, and social growth, School Nurses work to maximize the achievement and well-being of students. As the primary health care provider within the educational environment, the School Nurse shares in the responsibility of directing growth towards the achievement of each student's maximum potential, both as a student and as a member of the community.
Social Kindness
- Mission Statement lesson: At the beginning of the school year this lesson focuses on the Fletcher mission statement of inclusion and diversity within a positive school climate.
- Project Wisdom: A character education program that focuses on fostering caring and responsible behaviors using a collection of thought provoking messages.
- TASK: Tigers Achieving Social Kindness-This is a core group of 8th graders that lead the social kindness efforts within the student body.
- Joe’s Story video and lesson: A cyber safety lesson for 6th graders that show the serious negative impact of cyber-bullying and strategies to deal with it and prevent it. There are follow-up lessons in 7th and 8th grade.
- How Full is Your Bucket Lesson (6th grade): A developmental assets lesson during Tiger Camp that help students become aware of their own assets (positive qualities and strengths) that they already have and gain throughout their lives. They also learn how their assets can empower them, make them stronger and resilient when faced with hard times.
- “Including Samuel” Disability Awareness Lesson (6th grade): A lesson that includes viewing a video that explores how a student w/disabilities is included in the classroom and school community to increase awareness of disability based harassment, the consequences of such harassment and how to respond if they experience or witness it.
- Disability Awareness Simulation/lesson (7th and 8th): Students will do specific hands on activities to experience what it would be like to have different disabilities/challenges, and to continue to remind them of disability based harassment, the consequences of such harassment and how to respond to it.
- Think b4 You Speak: A lesson for 7th graders that teaches the history of the word “gay”, the negative consequences of the word as we use it today and strategies to eliminate the inappropriate use.
- Game playing: Opportunities for students from different grade levels to break down barriers and stereotypes through informal game playing.
- Tribes (6th grade): A program that emphasizes inclusion, valuing differences and working together to creative a positive school community.
- Let’s Get Real (6th grade): A three day lesson plan that helps students to gain a broader understanding of social cruelty, defining the roles, increasing empathy for the victims, developing action plans to reduce bullying.
- What Drives Me-formerly What I know Speech (7th grade): In an effort build community, students write about and share/show something unique or interesting about themselves.
- Let’s Get Real Follow-up (7th grade): Students review the Let’s Get Real lessons from 6th grade and focus on teaching them how to be an ally.
- Nightmare on Puberty Street (7th and 8th grade): A live theatre performance (done every two years) that focuses on life issues such as peer pressure, thoughts of suicide, body image and communication with parents and peers.
- Girl’s World Video/Lesson (8th grade girls): A lesson that focuses on social dynamics and relational aggression, with the goal of having the students reexamine their own group dynamics and make resolutions to interact in more positive and supportive ways.
- The Outlet Program Visit (8th grade boys): A presentation that focuses on developing an awareness of and sensitivity to homophobia and sexism, and the effects on LGBTQQ, heterosexual youth and how to be an ally.
- Boys to Men Video/Lesson (8th grade boys): A video and group discussion that focuses on issues specific to boys like stereotypes, body image, feelings, and not sharing them, and being a man.
- Silent Beats Video/Stereotype Lesson (8th grade): A video and lesson that focuses not only on the definition and different types of stereotypes, but how to address and stop stereotyping.
- NIOS Week: Not in Our Schools Week is a week where we continue our work towards our mission statement of having an inclusive community respect for diversity, high social standards and positive school climate. There are different activities throughout the week that promote kindness, acceptance, respect, and openness toward everyone on our campus.